About this project

$12,048

pledged of $9,000 goal

205

backers

"Can tickle. Can tickle. He can tickle her. Can tickle. Can tickle. He can make her purr." -Saints and Singing

One of Gertrude Stein’s lifelong projects was to capture the rhythms and sounds of American language. In our quest to further elucidate her project, we have recast her saints librettos in quintessentially American music. The original score developed by fifteen incredibly talented performers has become a joyful landscape of rap, rock n' roll, gospel, a New Orleans parade, a sermon, spoken word, bluegrass, folk, Shaker, jazz--and now we are asking for your help to bring this opera to The New York International Fringe Festival!

"Around is a sound and around is a sound and around is a sound and around." -Four Saints in Three Acts

Our initial investigation into Stein's work began with an all-male production of Four Saints in Three Acts at Carnegie Mellon University in February of 2013. Stein's libretto offers no plot, no characters, and no conflict; it is a non-narrative text that can best be described as linguistic gymnastics. In all this absence, anything becomes possible and what we have discovered is a Theatre of Joy. The response to the original production was overwhelmingly positive and became an invitation for more. We have since added an all-female Saints and Singing, also featuring an original musical score inspired by American music created by insanely talented performers. The two works are combined to create Gertrude Stein SAINTS!, a powerhouse that explores gender, a theatre that replaces conflict with joy, and America.

Audience comments:

"What?! That was SOOO fierce!"

"Very brave, very unique, and full of life."

"I cannot describe WHAT I saw, but I can tell you what I FELT- and that was sheer joy."

"The production was truly American in sound. It captured a range and diversity that resembles America and amplifies our heritage."

"Creative genius."

Rewards:

SPECIAL ONE-TIME-ONLY ORIGINAL ARTWORK REWARD: At the $750 level we have an awesome reward donated by illustrator, indie art star, and generally awesome person Lisa Congdon. It is an original artwork from the illustrations she did for the recently published Tender Buttons: Objects book by none other than Gertrude Stein.

"It is hard to imagine ever growing tired of this book. The more time you spend with both Stein's text and Congdon's illustrations the deeper you want to dig." - Imprint

"A Box" by Lisa Congdon. Original from illustrations for "Tender Buttons: Objects" by Gertrude Stein, published by Chronicle Books, 2013. 11x14 inches, unframed. Gouache and graphite on paper.

The reward also includes a copy of the book signed by Lisa Congdon as well as all of the rewards in preceding levels.

This is an exceptional reward for a collector of Stein memorabilia, art fans, and people who looooooooove alpacas!

Huge thank you to Lisa for this very awesome contribution.

NEW REWARDS: Three posters have been exclusively designed for this Kickstarter project, all based on quotes by Gertrude Stein. The fantastic designers are Kyle Durrie (powerandlightpress.com), Michael Buchino (buchino.net), and our own producer/media designer Jordan Harrison (jordanharrisonprojects.com).

At the $35 reward level you will be able to select one of the three prints, while at the $90 level you get all three (in addition to the other bundled rewards). If you have already pledged at a level above $90, don't worry, you automatically get all three prints! When the Kickstarter is over, we will send out a survey to confirm which poster you want. NOTE: The images you see here are digital drafts of the prints, which in the final design may look slightly different.

Designed by Kyle Durrie of Power & Light Press, based on a quote from Stein's "Saints and Singing", 12 x 18" Letterpress

Design by Michael Buchino (buchino.net) based on a quote from Stein's "Saints and Singing", 12 x 18" print

A small stipend for each cast member - Everyone on our team is volunteering his and her time to this production, including paying for his and her own transportation and housing. It really is a labor of love, but the performers work HARD every night and we honor their dedication with this small gesture.

Marketing - We're not shy but we need help getting the word out!

Costumes - Our performers are honestly some crazy beautiful people on their own, but wait until you see what Erik (costume design) has in store for them.

Rehearsal space in NYC ain't cheap!

Set - In the last show Joey (scenic design) worked on he made a mud hut look like a place you’d be willing to spend some time. What will he do with a 15 min between-show changeover? Bear rug?

Application fees - Necessary evil, but if that money is paying the salaries of people at FringeNYC we are happy to hand it over because they have been incredibly helpful and generous.

Stretch Goals & Rewards!

We made it! $9000! Phew! Thank you!

But we're not done yet!

Watch this new video with our director Michelle to see how we'll keep this up!

We want to maintain this momentum until the end of our campaign so that we can really make waves when we get to FringeNYC next month. So we've introduced some stretch goals and more rewards!

If we can reach 200 backers total, we will give every backer their own special moment with Gertrude Stein. What!? Well, as you all must know, GS was born in the Pittsburgh area, right where we're located. If you help us find 200 backers, Michelle and some of our cast will go to the house she was born in and take a picture with your name in front of the plaque commemorating her. We will do this for EVERY SINGLE BACKER.

It'll look sort of like this but better and with your name.

If we can reach our stretch goal of $13,000, we will give every backer a beautiful set of postcards of the 3 original poster prints created for this campaign.

Can we kick it? Yes we can!

A massive celebration of theatre, of joy, and of America needs a massive amount of people to make it happen. Our team is huge:

Risks and challenges

Bringing any show to an international theatre festival is rife with potential pitfalls; bringing a theatre EVENT (always in development, fluid, organic) of 23 artists magnifies the danger exponentially.

But the potential of this work is enormous and so, the risk is worth it. While it is challenging to be with work that continues to grow and grow (and will grow and will change even through our performances at NYC Fringe), we have been running with this project for almost two years now. We understand this work and each other very intimately and are incredibly excited to share what we have come to love about Gertrude Stein's theatre with the New York audience and we are also very excited to see what this encounter will bring.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $90 or more
About $90

All three exclusive posters based on quotes by Gertrude Stein. Also includes a T-shirt featuring the Gertrude Stein SAINTS! logo, a show poster, a SAINTS! medallion, a signed cast photo, digital cast photo, and live opera recording.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $110 or more
About $110

Help us buy an ad!

If this special one-time-only reward is funded before Sunday, July 14 we will take out an ad in a poets.org newsletter going out to 12,000 NYC subscribers. You will be helping us get the word out! Your reward is a signed show poster, a signed cast photo, a live recording from the show, and a special thank you from our marketing team.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $150 or more
About $150

Invitation to a cast party the weekend of Saturday, August 10 in NYC. Good times in signature SAINTS! style with our insanely talented cast. Also includes T-shirt featuring the Gertrude Stein SAINTS! logo, a signed show poster, a SAINTS! medallion, a signed cast photo, digital cast photo, and live opera recording.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

Invitation to a rehearsal in NYC! We will be writing the end of the show in New York during the week before our opening. Observe a rehearsal and see how this unique project was created and continues to evolve. Afterwards, join us for a conversation with the director and design team. Also includes party invite, T-shirt featuring the Gertrude Stein SAINTS! logo, a signed show poster, a SAINTS! medallion, a signed cast photo, digital cast photo, and live opera recording.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

Exclusive making-of DVD and digital download. Learn more about the process of creating the show through behind the scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew. Also includes rehearsal & party invites, T-shirt featuring the Gertrude Stein SAINTS! logo, a signed show poster, a SAINTS! medallion, a signed cast photo, digital cast photo, and live opera recording.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

The performer/creators who wrote the music for the show will select a piece of Gertrude Stein's writing and compose a new song from it based on the American music genre of your choosing. You ALSO get an actual costume worn in the world premier of Gertrude Stein SAINTS! at FringeNYC. Also includes 1 costume rendering, making-of DVD, party & rehearsal invites, T-shirt featuring the Gertrude Stein SAINTS! logo, a signed show poster, a SAINTS! medallion, a signed cast photo, digital cast photo, and live opera recording.